Answers
by TheRaggedEdge
Summary: Tag for Wanted. Kensi and Deeks continue on with the 'partner survey'.


"You smell like sunshine!" Deeks called out to her as she was leaving. She had to know, right? Of course he knew what she smelt like. There were times he'd go home at night, completely unable to get her scent of his mind. "And gunpowder," he added, knowing she was out of earshot. "Two of my favorite things."

_Coward._

Things like that were so easy to say when she couldn't hear him. But for some reason words like that never came when she was actually around to receive them. No, instead he would blab about her freezing his body and putting him in her living room. Smooth. So romantic.

_Just perfect, Deeks._

"Hey Kens!" He suddenly yelled, bolting for the same door through which she just exited. "Kensi!"

She turned from her open car door, curiosity lining her features. He jogged in her direction and stopped about three feet short of where she stood.

"What's up?" She questioned.

And suddenly, Deeks didn't know what was up. Thing was, it had been a good day, all things considered. Because despite the drama with Sam and his wife, and that tool who thought he could hit on Kensi, the uncomfortable moments in the spa, and the death of a fellow law enforcer, he had actually had fun today. Just being an idiot with Kensi. Rambling back and forth about absolutely nothing, a cheeky smile on her face the whole time. From the moment she'd started asking him questions from a bridal magazine, to the half a hug he had kind of gotten from her, to the plea she had made that he not get himself killed, today might just have been his favorite day in a very long time. And so he wasn't ready to end the day just yet.

"You okay?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm good. How are you?"

"Deeks?" She narrowed her eyes at him, completely suspicious of the motivations he didn't even have.

He shifted his feet slightly.

"Hey," she pressed gently, "what's up?"

"I don't—" he hesitated, "I don't really know."

She raised her eyebrows in amusement. "I see. Is there something you wanted?"

_Yes._

"No."

"Something you'd like to say?"

"Not really."

_You have no idea._

She folded her arms and tilted her head, trying and clearly failing to figure him out. "Do you wanna come over for a while?"

"It's pretty late," he reasoned, in an attempt to talk himself out of it.

"Oh. Well, I'll see you to—"

"Okay, if you insist. I'll meet you at your place," he forced a grin, somehow sensing that it came off pretty awkward.

Kensi smiled and shook her head. "Okay then."

* * *

He reached her house a couple of minutes after she did, mostly due to the fact that she drove like a maniac and he preferred to stick somewhat to the speed limit. He knocked lightly on her door and let himself in, suddenly deciding he'd been here enough times that he should be allowed to do that.

"Kensalina?"

"In the kitchen," she called back.

"Well, that's a first," he responded. He would never tire of joking about her lack of cooking skills.

"Ha. Ha. I'm making coffee."

"Yes, please." He sat on the couch, letting his tired muscles relax for the first time today. "So, when do I get to ask _you_ the partner survey questions?"

Kensi entered and joined him on the couch, sitting two cups of coffee on the coffee table. She sat facing him, curling her legs up underneath her. "You don't."

"I have them here." Deeks pulled a folded paper from his jeans pocket. He'd found it on the table in ops earlier and couldn't help but wonder how far into it Nell and Eric had gotten.

"No, Deeks. Not happening."

"Come on, Kens. I answered your questions. How would _you _describe the way we settle disagreements?" He asked, reading the first question off the page.

"Keep it up and I'll be able to show you."

"Ouch. Okay. Question two. Greatest fear?"

"Deeks." Her tone was a clear warning now that if he knew what was good for him, he probably wouldn't continue.

"Hey, come on. This could be good for us."

"A couples quiz?"

"It was your idea."

"I can and will kick you out at any given point." She gestured towards the door.

"I'm serious. Ask me any question off this list. And I'll ask you."

"Nope."

"Okay, you can refuse to answer if you wish. How does that sound?"

Kensi rolled her eyes and breathed a loud sigh. "You're not allowed to respond to my answers."

"Deal."

"And no mention of biological clocks or ninja assassins."

"That takes a lot of the fun out of it, but okay."

"Okay," she agreed.

"And you're not allowed to lie to me, Kens."

"Okay."

"Okay." Deeks lifted the paper and reread the last question. "What is your greatest fear?"

Not surprisingly, Kensi shook her head. "Next question."

"Okay, we'll start with something easier." His eyes scanned the list briefly till they landed on a question. "When did you know I was the one for you?" He paused, eyes wide, and mouth slightly agape. "Erm. In a law enforcement partnerly sense."

Kensi tilted her head back as she thought, staring up at the roof. "Uh. When Hetty told me I was stuck with you for a partner."

"Really?"

"No. Before that," she admitted.

Deeks felt a smile creep across the corners of his lips. "Really?"

"When you told me you were leaving. After the Aubrey Darva case. I was… disappointed. Thought we'd have worked well together."

"Wow. So you—"

"Deeks, you said you wouldn't comment."

"Right. Okay. Your turn." He handed her the paper.

After several seconds of thought, she looked up. "The question is, what's your favorite date we've been on? But we're changing it to, what's your favorite case we've been on?"

"Makes sense. And that one's easy. Justin and Melissa."

She smiled and bit her bottom lip. "Why?"

"Hey, no questions or comments, remember?" He took the paper from her hand and read down the list. "What is your favorite thing we do together?"

"This," she stated simply.

"Uh, I don't think we've ever done this before, Kens."

"You know what I mean. Just this. Hanging out. This is my favorite part."

Well, that was certainly worth noting.

Kensi, once again, looked over the list of questions. Deeks watched her eyes run up and down the page for a good, long minute before she spoke. "What's the closest you've ever been to dying?"

"Er, my hair? Or you mean like—"

"Deeks."

"I'm pretty sure that question isn't on there."

"So?"

"So if you're deviating from the assigned questions, you realise that means I'm allowed to do that also?"

"We'll see. Are you going to answer?"

Deeks angled his body away from her direction, straight ahead of him. He leaned his elbows against his knees and stared at the muted television. He knew before he'd even thought of the answer that he wouldn't be able to say it whilst looking at her. "It's uh, hard to know. Came pretty close when I got shot in the chest that time. I came scarily close to drowning once during an op a few years back. And when I was seven, there was a point where I was fairly certain my Dad was going to kill me. I was lucky my uncle showed up when he did. Took me to hospital."

He cleared his throat and forced the emotions back. Then he turned again to face her.

"I'm sorry."

He smiled and shook his head. "Don't be."

A silence passed as she sat there, staring at him, clearly deep in thought. "You know if you die I'm going to be mad?"

"I can picture you reviving me from the dead so you can kill me yourself." Deeks joked, half a smile on his lips. "You ready for your question?"

"I guess."

"Were you really interested in that CIA guy today?"

"Pass."

"Kens, I'd really like to know." A large part of him really didn't want to know. In case it wasn't the answer he'd wanted. But curiosity always won out in the end. He had to know.

She looked away for a moment. "I don't think so."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. No, I wasn't interested. But he was nice. He said nice things."

"I say nice things."

Kensi raised her eyebrows disbelievingly.

"Okay, sometimes I say nice things."

She released a small laugh.

"Kens, if I said every nice thing about you that came to mind, it would probably make our partnership highly awkward."

That brought a smile to her lips, one that she quickly tried and failed to brush off.

"I love it when you do that."

She took a sip of her coffee, clearly trying to hide the unwanted smile. "What?"

"That little, girly smile. It slips out every so often, and I think it's cute."

She sat her coffee back down and attempted an eye-roll. "Whatever."

"And there's our other problem. You don't seem to like it when I compliment you." He leaned a little closer to her. "Or maybe you just pretend not to like it."

"Next question."

But Deeks knew he couldn't let this one go now. "I knew it!"

Kensi shrugged. "What girl doesn't like a compliment?"

"I'll remember that."

Who knew? Every time she brushed him off, punched him, insulted him or ignored him after a compliment, it meant she actually liked it. Maybe he'd just have to be more daring in the future. It was his job to make her feel good about herself, not that Sobatino guy.

"Were you jealous?"

"Pass. Did you want me to be?"

"Pass. And only I'm allowed to pass. You don't get passes."

"That hardly seems fair. But the answer is yes."

Kensi looked at him, confused. "Yes, what?"

Deeks took a deep breath, knowing he was about to admit something he vowed he never would. "Yes, I was jealous."

Kensi's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. Deeks winced, anticipating a reaction. Maybe a punch. But when he looked at her, he saw the faintest smile on her lips. One that she hadn't expected. And then it grew till it was a satisfied smirk.

"I'll take that as an answer to my question." Deeks teased.

"My turn?" Kensi attempted to change the subject, and Deeks decided just to go along with it. "How exactly does one smell like sunshine?"

Deeks breathed a laugh and looked down at his shoes. So she had heard that part. "Why don't you tell me?"

"It was _your_ observation," she reasoned.

"An observation of how _you_ smell," he countered. "Sunshine is… I don't know. It's warmth. And comfort. And laughter. And just… happiness. I don't know."

"That's awfully poetic."

"I try." Deeks grinned. He had made a very deliberate decision not to include the smell of gunpowder in his description. Best leave that little detail to himself.

Unable to think of a question that he wanted to know that she'd actually answer, he turned his eyes back to the magazine survey and scanned through the questions. "Can we briefly touch on the topic of mutant ninja assassins?" He dared to ask.

Her answer was immediate. "No."

"I just—It's…It's on the list." He waved the paper at her. "I was just wondering how many you want. You know, when you do have them."

"Well," Kensi shrugged, "I don't really know. More than one. Less than ten."

Deeks coughed. "That's a very broad range. You'd really be happy with nine kids?"

Kensi laughed, almost wistfully. "No. Maybe four. It's an even number."

"Four means you need a bigger than average car."

"True," she conceded.

"But you definitely see kids in your future?"

"Yeah." She took another sip of her coffee, then sat the empty cup on the floor. "I always thought we'd have kids after leaving NCIS."

Deeks didn't respond. Didn't know how to. There were two very surprising statements in that sentence she'd just spoken so nonchalantly. And judging by the oblivious look on her face, she hadn't even realised. He leaned forward and stroked his stubble with his right hand, searching for words to respond with. "Okay, two things, Kens. One: 'we'? And B: Leave NCIS? Is this something _we_'ve talked about?"

Kensi's eyes widened as she realised what she'd said. But if she was mortified as he suspected she was, she didn't let it show in her tone as she spoke. "One and B? How does that work? 'One' and 'B'? It's either 'one' and 'two' or 'A' and 'B'. You can't—"

"Kens." Deeks interrupted her with her name.

"Okay one: 'we' as in my partner and I."

"_I'm_ your partner!"

She attempted to glare at him. "As in my husband, Deeks. As in, not you!"

"Sure," Deeks drew out the word in a teasing tone.

"And B: How could I possibly have children while I'm working with NCIS?"

Deeks shifted slightly closer to her on the couch, more to make her uncomfortable than anything else. "Maybe we can put our kids in day-care?"

"Deeks," she warned.

"Or we could train them up as junior NCIS agents. Partner them with Nell and Eric's children."

Kensi's look of frustration morphed into a sweet smile. "Sounds wonderful. Then little Ermengarde and Cornelius can be just like their mommy and daddy."

"Mmmm. "Maybe I'll be in charge of names, darling."

She shook her head adamantly. "No, I'm pretty set on those."

"Is it too late to back out of this marriage thing?"

"Sorry, sweet-pea. I'm afraid you're stuck with me now."

"Oh well," Deeks shrugged. "I could do worse. I believe it's your turn."

"Were you mad that I kissed you?" She asked suddenly and quickly.

Deeks raised his eyebrows in surprise and released a loud breath. "Wow. We're talking about this now?"

She nodded and softly bit her bottom lip. She was nervous. And he found it insanely cute.

"At Brett and Paulina's?" He clarified.

"I don't recall having kissed you at another time."

"Good point." He studied her eyes for a moment, letting his mind take him back to the moment in question. "I wasn't mad. Not even a little bit." He let that settle before adding, "should I have been?"

"I don't know," she answered softly.

"I was surprised. Very surprised. And maybe… curious as to why…"

"It was a cover kiss," she stated simply.

"An unnecessary cover kiss," he countered.

She didn't respond to that. Deeks could tell she had something she wanted to say. Something she didn't know how to say. And suddenly, he was dying to know what it was.

"Not that I'm complaining, Kens, but why did you kiss me?" Again, he shifted a little closer to her.

She avoided eye contact, instead choosing to focus on her hands which were folded neatly in her lap. He'd almost conceded the fact that she wasn't going to answer, when she began speaking again. "We'd been undercover for three weeks. And I knew it was about to end. I don't know." She paused for several moments before continuing. "I guess I didn't think I'd get another opportunity. And we needed to think of a reason that we'd both be standing there. It was the first thing that came to mind."

"Fair enough," Deeks smiled.

"So you weren't upset?"

"This might surprise you, Kens, but kissing me isn't really high on the list of things you could do to upset me. I mean, it's not how I thought our first kiss would happen, but—"

Kensi's hand on his knee interrupted his thought process. "You thought about it?" She asked.

Deeks looked down at her hand, which she quickly removed.

"Yep." He answered simply. "Probably more than I should have. But uh," he glanced over at the clock on Kensi's wall, "it's getting late, and we're getting into territory we usually don't even go near."

Kensi smiled with a slight shrug. "Maybe that's progress for us."

"Not the kind of progress that Hetty would approve of…"

That received a light laugh from his partner, before her face turned serious again. "To be honest, after today, there's a lot of questions that I'm not sure I want to leave unanswered."

Deeks leaned closer to her, wanting to reach for her but knowing that he shouldn't. "Kensi, I'm not going anywhere. I know today has gotten you scared about one of us dying. But I already promised I wouldn't, and there's no way I'm letting anyone touch you. I'm not leaving you, Kens."

She attempted a smile, but it didn't take an overly-observant person to notice the moisture in her eyes. "Thanks, Deeks."

Deeks stood, forcing himself to not lean in and hug her, or wipe the stray tear from her cheek with his fingers. She stood also and followed him to the door.

"I'm happy you came over," she said softly.

"If you come across any more partner surveys, let me know," he smiled.

Her smile grew and she released a barely audible laugh. "Okay."

"Goodnight, Kens."

"Night, Deeks."

* * *

"Hey Kens," read a text message from Deeks later than night.

Adjusting her eyes to the light from her phone, Kensi typed a reply. "What's up, Deeks?"

"One more question I forgot to ask."

"Mmm?"

"What's in the box?"

Kensi smiled and typed a reply. "I guess you'll find out soon."

**Thanks so much for reading. I'd love to know what you think. 'Wanted' was a fantastic episode and I was inspired to write an ending for it. Hope you enjoyed.**


End file.
